144 Birds Every Child Should Know 
sides of its tail to be sure it is not the big, 
brownish flicker, who wears a patch of white 
feathers on its lower back, conspicuous as it 
flies. The meadowlark has the impolite habit 
of turning its back upon one as if it thought 
its yellow breast too beautiful for human eyes 
to gaze at. It flaps and sails through the air 
much like bob -white. But flying is not its 
specialty. It is, however, a strong-legged, 
active walker, and rarely rises from the ground 
unless an intruder gets very near, when away 
it flies, with a nasal, sputtered alarm note, 
to alight upon a fence rail or other low perch. 
The tender, sweet, plaintive, flute-like whistle, 
Spring-o'-the-year, is a deliberate song usually 
given from some favourite platform — a stump, 
a rock, a fence or a mound, to which the bird 
goes for his musical performance only. He 
sings on and on delightfully, not always the 
same song, for he has several in his repertoire, 
and charms all listeners, although he cares 
to please none but his mate, that looks just 
like him. 
She keeps well concealed among the grasses 
where her grassy nest is almost impossible 
to find, especially if it be partly arched over 
at the top. No farmer who realises what an 
enormous number of grasshoppers, not to 
mention other destructive insects, meadow- 
larks destroy, is foolish enough to let his 
